City Garden

Jess Klein | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 10, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: United For Opportunity
• ASIN: B000HEZET6
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,041 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Mojo Magazine

Â"She has one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to.Â"

She meshes Emmylou Harris with Joan Osborne, sounding at once vulnerable and assured...Klein is a major talent.

Â"She has the staying power to outlast shooting stars.

Product Description

"She has one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to." --MOJO Magazine

On her sixth and most unrestrained album City Garden, Jess Klein reveals everything. "I was at a really hard point in my life and the only thing I knew to do to make it easier was to write," said Klein. "I sat down and the song 'All I Ever Had' came out, and it felt like a faucet had been turned on because it was such a release of emotion. The first night that I performed it, several people told me it had moved them to tears. I realized that I wasn't the only one who felt that something had been released."

Klein said that she wanted every song on this album to have that same power "to release and to heal." With her soulful, passionate voice up front, and lyrics that alternate between searing and heartbreakingly tender, Klein went for a gritty, primal production style reminiscent of early blues albums. As a result, City Garden exudes the emotional intimacy that has captivated audiences at Klein's much-lauded live shows, an intimacy which, coupled with Klein's powerful voice, caused the Boston Globe to describe her as "Quite simply one of the most gifted performers this area has produced."

Klein's impassioned vocals throughout convey the power of unearthing one's true nature. In the title track, Klein ruminates on addressing one's fears and owning the power that lies underneath them: "Been lookin' at my city garden for almost twelve months now/I been thinkin' 'bout a bargain/About tearin' that old fence down."

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful voice and great songwriting, October 16, 2006

By 

Crumbles Delorean "crumbles" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: City Garden (Audio CD)

Jess Klein's voice is something you want to bask in. "City Garden" is her best record to date.

It is a joy to watch such a talented singer take command of a song. She writes her own material and has a way of getting right into your head and heart. Buy this record and listen to it often.

This is a diamond in the rough. Strong production frames her voice and guitar...the album rocks and she is not afraid to sing about things that matter...this is what real music sounds like.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars even beter than her last, January 9, 2007

By 

andrew shenkman "MusicMan" (Jersey Shore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City Garden (Audio CD)

Jess Klein's newest CD is even better than her previous one. Every song is strong, passionate - very focused writing with a great sense of melody.

This is an emotional journey where the singer & the music come together to touch the listener very deeply. Rarely do you hear a performance on a CD that is so moving & so personal that you can't imagine it being "better" at a Live show. If I had to make a case for the Singer-Songwriter genre being alive & well - I need only play a few tracks from this CD as evidence.

Jess' voice, her words, her music will pull you into to her City Garden and allow you to grow right along side of her.

It really doesn't get much better than this.............

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars edgy, May 26, 2007

By 

Mathew W. Moran "matt moran" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: City Garden (Audio CD)

Klein's passion is undeniable on her new album, "City Garden." A folk rocker with more than a bit of an edge, Klein shows off a low, powerful voice with enormous range, on this, her sixth and most personal disc. As a singer/songwriter, Klein is reminiscent of a more melodic Ani DiFranco - and indeed, Klein has opened for DiFranco in the past. However, Klein is a difficult singer to label - too earthy for a pop musician, too acoustic to be punk, too rootsy to be country, and way too talented to be stuck in the back of a coffee shop.

In the end, it will be the emotional, almost primal vocals that will turn listeners into believers. Some will find this album too personal for their taste, but if you like emotional intimacy in a songwriter, take a good long listen to the entire album, but most particularly the anguished, "All I Ever Had."